1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a workshelf for an electronic equipment cabinet or computer rack, and more particularly to a temporary shelf for a data storage system, wherein the shelf provides a temporary work surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mass data storage systems, tape backup systems, automated tape library systems, electronic test equipment, telecommunications equipment, network servers, routers and firewalls are often mounted in cabinets and rack mount frames. Multiple cabinets, which may be numerous enough to fill a room, are typically placed in an equipment room in rows thereby creating narrow aisles. When installing and monitoring the racks of equipment, operators, service personnel and technicians have little available work space for placing portable equipment and writing notes. Presently, portable equipment is placed on the floor, on top of other equipment or on dedicated shelves. This portable equipment may be, for example, a laptop computer, a data interface analyzer such as an Ethernet analyzer, or a customized diagnostic tool. Additionally, only the vertical faces of equipment and tops of nearby equipment provide a useful writing surface.
To provide a horizontal surface for portable equipment and for writing, some cabinets and racks incorporate pull-out shelves and pull-out drawers. A pull-out device occupies valuable rack space, which cannot otherwise be used by rack mountable equipment. Additionally, pull-out devices use rollers and slides, which increase a shelf's cost and increase the risk of necessary future maintenance and replacement.
Alternatively, a horizontal surface may be provided by a fixed shelf. A fixed shelf mounts within the body of a cabinet or a rack frame to provide support for electronic equipment. Though a fixed shelf is relatively inexpensive, it often requires several units of vertical rack space to be functional and therefore displaces other equipment that could otherwise occupy that vertical rack space. In other words, to be reserved as a surface for portable equipment or as a writing surface, a shelf would remain empty when a technician is not using it. Thus, valuable rack space is left unutilized for a majority of the time.
Still other racks provide a horizontal surface by way of a fixed shelf that protrudes from the cabinet or rack frame. These shelves permanently extend into the aisle, thus requiring cabinets and racks to be spaced farther apart in order to maintain the width of the aisles between the rows of cabinets.
Therefore, what is needed is a system that provides a temporary horizontal surface when in use and that minimizes the occupied vertical rack displacement in a cabinet or rack frame when not in used.